Tag Archives: Age of Sigmar

Age of Sigmar, Army Lists, Fantasy, Tournaments

Top Three AoS Lists from February Old Town Throw Down AOS – 26th/27th February 2022

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The February Old Town Throw Down was a five game event over two days that took place in USA on 26th and 27th Feb. It saw 45 players fight it out to be claimed champion.

Most Selected Faction/Subfaction

Win Rate

The Top Three Lists

These were the top three lists from The February Old Town Throw Down.

Alexander Gonzalez – Soulblight Gravelords

Alexander won all five games beating Maggotkin of Nurgle/Blessed Sons in Round 1, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 2, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 3, Blades of Khorne/Reapers of Vengeance in Round 4 and Seraphon/Fangs of Sotek in the last round.

Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords
– Lineage: Vyrkos Dynasty
– Grand Strategy: Predator’s Domain
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (435)
– General
– Deathlance
– Command Trait: Pack Alpha
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Mount Trait: Foetid Miasma
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Radukar the Beast (315)**
Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (380)
– Lore of the Deathmages: Fading Vigour

Battleline
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)**
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)**
10 x Dire Wolves (135)**

Units
20 x Grave Guard (280)*
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1
20 x Grave Guard (280)*
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1

Core Battalions
*Hunters of the Heartlands
**Battle Regiment

Total: 1995 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 118
Drops: 5

Declan – Alexander went 4-1 at Emerald City with the same list… and he’s gone one better here. It shows the benefit of playing multiple games of Age of Sigmar especially if you get two tournaments in two weekends. Not essential by any means, but I know I’ve improved playing in multiple tournaments!

But it’s been less than a week, I’ve not really learnt anything new here… so a repeat of the Emerald City comments!:

40 Grave Guard! Wow! I’ve fought 20 of them before and they can kill a Mega Gargant over a couple of rounds of combat. Backed up by Mannfred and a Zombie Dragon, this army can get where it needs to get to.

The really secret tech (may not be secret) is Mannfred’s command ability:

From: Wahapedia

Considering most armies pay 1 command point for a one phase +1 to hit this is amazing value for a command ability. Sure it’s a relatively small range but with the smaller boards and Mannfred’s ability to run away from combat this is almost impossible to stop. Then it’s Grave Guard for the win!

Christopher Hernandez – Seraphon

Christopher managed an impressive four wins and one draw over the weekend. He beat Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 1, drew against Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in Round 2, Big Waaagh! in Round 3, Cities of Sigmar/Tempest’s Eye in Round 4 and Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 5.

Allegiance: Seraphon
– Constellation: Thunder Lizard
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Engine of the Gods (265)*
– General
– Command Trait: Prime Warbeast
– Artefact: Fusil of Conflaguration
– Mount Trait: Beastmaster
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Curse
Lord Kroak (430)
Skink Priest (80)*
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Skink Starpriest (130)*
– Spell: Hand of Glory

Battleline
30 x Skinks (225)*
– Boltspitters & Moonstone Clubs
– Reinforced x 2
10 x Skinks (75)*
– Boltspitters Celestite Daggers & Star Bucklers
10 x Skinks (75)*
– Boltspitters Celestite Daggers & Star Bucklers

Units
5 x Chameleon Skinks (115)*
2 x Salamander Hunting Pack (280)*
– Reinforced x 1

Behemoths
Bastiladon with Solar Engine (250)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
Soulsnare Shackles (65)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1990 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 3 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 115
Drops: 2

Declan – Ah Seraphon… how I’ve missed you. Although I’ve not had a lot of chance to do so. This is Seraphon… again … and they are as good as ever. As I’ve said before they have a great toolkit and you can almost pick what you like… except maybe Saurus foot and Carnosaurs.

The Battle Regiment is taken by Christopher, to reduce the drops – a very popular choice – and he’s taken Kroak. He’s a monster of a Wizard and can throw out loads of damage, much of it board wide or essentially board wide. Also, good luck killing him as he heals all his wounds each phase (sort of)!

Wahapedia

So you can kill him with only 2 wounds… but good luck trying! I’ve fought Kroak 3 times and not come close to killing him in any of the games. Bring guns… loads of guns!

Kroak is backed up by some great monsters including the ubiquitous Bastiladon. – what a great list!

Aaron Newbom – Big Waaagh!

Aaron won four of his five games, losing only in Round 3 against 2nd placed Christopher and his Seraphon/Thunder Lizard list. Along the way he beat the Daughters of Khaine/Hagg Nar in Round 1, Slaves to Darkness/Hosts of the Everchosen in Round 2, Slaves to Darkness/Despoilers in Round 4 and Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befouling Host in Round 5.

– Army Faction: Orruk Warclans
– Army Type: Big Waaagh!
– Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence
– Triumph: Indomitable

LEADERS
———-

Orruk Megaboss (140)*
– Artefacts of Power: Destroyer
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
Wurrgog Prophet (150)**
– Artefacts of Power: Glowin’ Tattooz
– Spells: Ghost-mist
Orruk Megaboss (140)**
– Artefacts of Power: Arcane Tome
Orruk Weirdnob Shaman (90)**
– General
– Command Traits: Master of Magic
– Spells: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork

BATTLELINE
———-

5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)*
5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)**
15 x Orruk Brutes (480)***
-Reinforced: Twice
15 x Orruk Ardboys (255)***
– Reinforced: Twice
5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)***

ARTILLERY
———-

1 x Beast-skewer Killbow (130)
1 x Beast-skewer Killbow (130)

CORE BATTALIONS
– *Warlord
– **Warlord
– ***Hunters of the Heartlands

TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000

Declan – Ah… Big Waagh! It has had a mini-revival recently and I’ve been having fun leading this charge in the UK. Aaron only lost to Christopher’s Seraphon and has gone a very different route than my ‘almost Ironjawz’ approach.

The Wurrgog is great with his stare (beware of ending a turn within 12″ of him), and I love the double Megabosses on Foot which I’ve tried before in Ironjawz. When Big Waagh is up and running they are 2+/2+ which is difficult to better. The Hand of Gork allows Aaron to threaten teleport into any area of the board which keeps opponents honest and means they have to defend their territory.

Meanwhile the Killbows provide reach to go and get the enemy – although if you play with this be aware that the Big Waagh hit and wound bonuses don’t apply. A great army and a superb result.

Wildcard – Gregory Brewer – Kruleboyz

Gregory also won 4 games with a Kruleboyz faction that rarely finishes with more than 3 wins at tournaments, he eventually finished the event in 6th. He lost his third game against Lumineth Realm-Lords/Helon list. He won against Lumineth Realm-Lords/Ymetrica in Round 1, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 2, Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty in Round 4 and Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in the last round.

– Army Faction: Orruk Warclans
– Army Type: Kruleboyz
– Subfaction: Big Yellers
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty

LEADERS
———-

Kragnos (720)
Gobsprakk (280)*
– Spells: Nasty Hex
Swampcalla Shaman and Pot-grot (105)*
– Artefacts of Power: Mork’s Eye Pebble
– Spells: Nasty Hex
Killaboss with Stab-Grot (110)*
– General
– Command Traits: Supa Sneaky
– Boss‑hacka and Skareshield

BATTLELINE
———-

9 x Man-skewer Boltboyz (360)*
– Reinforced: Twice
3 x Man-skewer Boltboyz (120)*
3 x Man-skewer Boltboyz (120)*

OTHER
———-

20 x Hobgrot Slittaz (160)*
– Reinforced: Once

CORE BATTALIONS
– *Battle Regiment
TOTAL POINTS: 1975/2000

Declan – When Kruleboyz were first released, people immediately looked towards the Big Yellers and this is no expection. The Man Skewer Boltboyz remain a solid option, although maybe not up the shooting standards of other battletomes. They have the reach to do damage at range, and means that once Kragnos is in amongst your opponent’s troops causing damage left and right.

It’s great to see Kragnos starting to appear in 4-1 lists since his warscroll re-write in December. It certainly seems to be an improvement, and he’s scary to face as I found out at Chumpionship last weekend.

The Final Tournament Placings

– Declan & Peter

Age of Sigmar, Army Lists, Fantasy, Tournaments

Top Three AoS Lists from The Cherokee Open – 26th/27th February 2022

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The Cherokee Open was a five game event over two days that took place in USA on 26th and 27th Feb. It saw 51 players fight it out to be claimed champion.

Most Selected Faction/Subfaction

Win Rate

The Top Three Lists

These were the top three lists from the Cherokee Open tournament.

David Fields – Stormcast Eternals

Astral Templars by Vincent Knotley

David won all five games beating Flesh-eater Courts/Gristlegore in Round 1, Sons of Behemat/Breaker Tribe in Round 2, Daughters of Khaine/Khelt Nar in Round 3, Maggotkin of Nurgle/Befoulding Host in Round 4 and Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Arcanum in the last round.

Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Stormhost: Astral Templars (Stormkeep)
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Indomitable

Leaders
———-

Karazai, The Scarred (600)*
– General
Lord-Relictor (145)*
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Spell: Celestial Blades
– Prayer: Bless Weapons

Battleline
———-

2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Lance
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Lance
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Lance
5 x Liberators (115)*
– Heavens-wrought Weapon and Shield
5 x Liberators (115)*
– Heavens-wrought Weapon and Shield

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Additional Enhancements
Holy Command: Steadfast March

Total: 1995 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 98
Drops: 1

Declan – I don’t know how many times I can say / write ‘Dragons’ without the readers getting bored… but here’s one more time! Dragons!

But David has brought Karazai with him and – not having seen him much up to now – I checked out his warscroll.

Wahapedia

He’s effectively a more damaging version of the Maw Krusha (for more points) with great rend and the very little degredation in his profile. You need to do 12 wounds on him to even get the Jaws down to a 3+ to wound…! Wow!

So it’s not really a reduction in power, just a reduction in units. All in all a great result from David and his Dragons.

Mrigank Jha – Stormcast Eternals

Knight Excelsior Chapter

LVO 2022 top eight veteran Mrigank also managed an impressive five wins over the weekend. He beat SIronjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 1, Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty in Round 2, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 3, Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in Round 4 and Daughters of Khaine/Khelt Nar in Round 5.

Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Stormhost: Knights Excelsior
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Dominating Presence
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
———

Knight-Judicator with Gryph-Hounds (205)*
– Artefact: Mirrorshield
Lord-Imperatant (175)*
Lord-Relictor (145)*
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Spell: Starfall
– Prayer: Translocation

Battleline
———-

3 x Annihilators with Meteoric Grandhammers (240)**
3 x Annihilators with Meteoric Grandhammers (240)**
3 x Annihilators (200)*
5 x Liberators (115)**
– Heavens-wrought Weapon and Shield
– 1x Grandweapons

Units
———-

6 x Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (480)*
– Reinforced x 1
3 x Aetherwings (65)
3 x Prosecutors with Stormcall Javelins (115)
– 1x Stormsurge Tridents

Core Battalions
*Warlord
**Hunters of the Heartlands

Additional Enhancements
Artefact
Holy Command: Thunderbolt Volley

Total: 1980 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 80
Drops: 10

Declan – You can tell a Battletome is doing well when two players get 5-0 at a tournament with completely different armies. Mrigank has got a lot of different units in here, but it all revolves around the Longstrikes. They are well priced as a unit (480 points for 12 wounds is expensive), but it’s the support functions that operate with it that makes them crazy good.

The Thunderbolt Volley allows the player to teleport a unit on a 2+ (with re-roll), and then the Thunderbolt Volley allows the unit to shoot in the hero phase (once a game). Shooting at 30″ and doing mortal wounds with great rend, these models can take out whole units at once – with minimal risk to themselves. We’re seeing a lot of these in the UK meta at the moment!

Jon Anderson – Idoneth Deepkin

Jon won four of his five games, losing only in Round 1 against Ogor Mawtribes/Boulderhead. Along the way he beat the Ogor Mawtribes/Boulderhead in Round 2, Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in Round 3, Ogor Mwatribes/Boulderhead in Round 4 and Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 5.

Allegiance: Idoneth Deepkin
– Enclave: Fuethan
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Inspired

LEADERS
———-

Eidolon of Mathlann, Aspect of the Storm (330)*
– Artefact: Cloud of Midnight
Isharann Tidecaster (105)*
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Lore of the Deeps: Arcane Corrasion

BATTLELINE
———-

20 x Namarti Reavers (340)*
– Reinforced: Once
20 x Namarti Reavers (340)*
– Reinforced: Once
10 x Namarti Reavers (170)*

UNITS
———-

3 x Akhelian Ishlaen Guard (155)*
3 x Akhelian Ishlaen Guard (155)*

BEHEMOTHS
———-

Akhelian Leviadon (380)*
– Mount Trait: Reverberating Carapace

CORE BATTALIONS
*Battle Regiment

Declan – Non-Stormcast – what a relief… and I struggle to comment on this as Idoneth are not well represented in the UK meta at the moment so I haven’t played against them recently.

Wahapedia Again!

So what do they do – A reasonable shot (4+/4+/-/1) and good melee weapons, they can do two roles in a game where movement and range is key – they look great. I ran Gitmob archers in AOS1 and know how much damage 60 shots at 4+/4+/-/1 can do, especially now that there is access to All Out Attack. A great result from Jon to be top of the 4-1 bracket.

Wildcard – Calvin Rarie – Bonesplitterz

Calvin also won 4 games with a rarely seen Bonesplitterz faction and finished the event in 6th. He lost his second game against Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Arcanum list. He won against Disciples of Tzeentch/Eternal Conflagration in Round 1, Stormcast Eternals/Knights Excelsior in Round 3, Flesh-eater Courts/Gristlegore in Round 4 and Sons of Behemat/Breaker Tribe in the last round.

Allegiance: Bonesplitterz
– Warclan: Icebone
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Indomitable

Leaders
Wurrgog Prophet (150)*
– Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz
– Lore of the Savage Beast: Glowy Green Tusks
Maniak Weirdnob (100)*
– General
– Command Trait: One Wiv Da Beast – Glowy Green Tusks
– Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un
– Lore of the Savage Beast: Gorkamorka’s War Cry
Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)*

Battleline
15 x Savage Boarboys (420)*
– Stikkas
– Reinforced x 2
5 x Savage Boarboys (140)*
– Stikkas
10 x Savage Orruks (165)*
– Chompas

Units
10 x Savage Boarboy Maniaks (290)*
– Reinforced x 1

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1985 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 3 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 141
Drops: 1

Declan – Peter knows how to get my attention and Bonesplitterz is certainly a great call. Calvin has Kragnos (Kraggy) and 31 Boarboyz. This army can run straight forward and trap you in your own deployment stopping the opponent getting objectives.

And although Kraggy is a lot of points, there is still 123 wounds of 6+ (or better) ward saves backing him up, including one turn at 4+ in combat). Difficult to kill and the Boarboyz are not completely useless in combat – ignore them at your peril — and bring screens!

The Final Tournament Placings

– Declan & Peter

Peter Holland, Rules Writing, Sci-Fi

Writing a Sci-fi Tabletop Wargame – Part 14

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It is 400 years since man first set foot on the moon, and 300 since man found out the Galaxy is a dangerous place….

rulebook-21.02.22Download

As with everything I would like this to be community driven, so if you see any typo’s or think paragraphs need rephrasing or moving then please let me know in the form at the end of this article.

Last Weeks Poll Results for Orders

Here are the results from last weeks polls.

There was no wording to add to the current living rule book this week so the rules have been unchanged.

THIS WEEKS POLLS

We’ve covered movement, so the next step is to cover the all important shooting phase. It’s a big one this week with multiple polls! So buckle up!

Firstly as a unit on the table top can represent hundreds of individuals how should hits on that unit be treated? As Physical damage (i.e. the unit has a number of wounds and is removed from play once this reaches zero) or as morale where a unit can degrade from good to poor and so on but can have the ability to rest and recover.

Name Suggestions?

Do you have a name suggestion for the game or do you have any rules suggestions, or a topic you would like us to focus on next. Or perhaps you would like us to reword something in the main document. Anything you want, let us know below.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Games Workshop

Tournament Review – Chumpionship 2022

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2,000 point, 3 game Age of Sigmar Tournament, 26th February 2022

Age of Chumps own Rhys Sallabanks ran a one-day tournament in Titchmarsh, UK, yesterday and I was fortunate to attend. Running on the same weekend as Sheffield Slaughter we didn’t have a full Chump tournament attendance, but there were 10 players (including Rhys) which made for a great atmosphere.

I ran my Big Waagh list similar to The Nameless King, with a few tweaks. I took out a Big Stabba, and a unit of Ardboyz and replaced them with a 2nd Warchanter and Ironskullz Boyz.

Big Waaagh!

– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs:

Leaders
Megaboss on Maw-Krusha (480)*
– General
– Boss Choppa and Rip-tooth fist
– Command Trait: Touched by the Waaagh!
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Mount Trait: Fast ‘Un
– Lore of the Weird: Da Great Big Green Hand of Gork
Wurrgog Prophet (150)*
– Artefact: Glowin’ Tattooz
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
– Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat
Orruk Warchanter (115)*
– Warbeat: Fixin’ Beat

Battleline
10 x Orruk Brutes (320)**
– Jagged Gore-hackas
– 2x Gore Choppas
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Orruk Brutes (320)**
– Jagged Gore-hackas
– 2x Gore Choppas
– Reinforced x 1
5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)***
– 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers
5 x Orruk Ardboys (85)***
– 1x Gorkamorka Banner Bearers

Units
4 x Ironskull’s Boyz (80)***
3 x Orruk Gore-gruntas (170)**
– Jagged Gore-hackas
2 x Savage Big Stabbas (80)*

Core Battalions
*Warlord
**Hunters of the Heartlands
***Ironjawz Fist

Additional Enhancements
Artefact

Total: 2000 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 148
Drops: 11

This boosted the army to 2,000 points and meant I iwould not get a Triumph. I was a little concerned that this would give my opponent their triumph, but with +1 to wound from Waaagh Points I didn’t think I’d miss mine. Plus, the second Warchanter would give me an extra Violent Fury and some redundancy for the +2 Waaagh points.

Game 1 v David (Lumineth Realm Lords) – Savage Gains – Won 20-0

David didn’t have a typical LRL army with only 2 units of 10 Sentinels. His main damage and problem causers were Severith, Eltharion and 20 Wardens.

Refused Flank, with LRL ahead of us – Great scenary!

David went first and took the centre two objectives. He damaged some of my units with the Sentinels, and moved Severith forward who did 3 wounds on the Maw Krusha. Severiththen charged the Ironskull’s Boyz but failed to kill them. In my turn the Wurrgog Prophet stared at Severith but only did 4 wounds before I had to stop as he was close to killing himself. I used Mighty Destroyers to open a lane for the Maw Krusha who used Fast Un to move nearer Sevirth. I then Hand of Gork’d 10 Brutes onto the objective on my left.

I charged the Maw Krusha into Severith, having zoned him out so he could only retreat in one direction. Doing 1 wound in shooting, Severith moved at the end of the shooting phase putting him 11″ from the Maw Krusha! I rolled the charge… and got him. Despite having called ‘Monstrous Takeover’ I left the objective and charged Severith – killing him.

The Brutes then charged a small unit of Wardens and killed them as well.

I then got turn two, Brutes charged 10 Sentinels, Maw Krusha charged the 20 wardens, and the Eels were also charged. I destroyed much of what I charged, although David did kill the Maw Krusha in his second turn. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough left to hold all the objectives, so when 6 Brutes walked onto his home objective, he couldn’t shift them off.

Game 2 v Chrissie Coram (Ironjawz) – Power Struggle – Won 14-6

Chrissie has recently switched back to Ironjawz, and had an extra toy for this tournament — Kragnos!!

Chrissie’s Lovely Hellboy inspired Kragnos.

Chrissie went first and took the centre objective with Kragnos getting maximum points. I then moved my Arboyz to keep two lines of screening troops between me and Kragnos. I also cast Hand of Gork on 10 Brutes, who successfully charged Chrissie’s 2×5 Brutes and killed them all over 2 turns, with minimal loss. I also positioned the Wurgogg so that he would be within 12″ of Kragnos if Chrissie charged my screens.

I won the second turn and didn’t move much except to shuffle my screens a little. This mean I got max points again for minimal effort. In Chrissie’s second turn, she took my left objective which was held by 2 Big Stabbas. Unfortunately, she failed the charge with the Maw Krusha leaving me with 1 Big Stabba. Kragnos charged in the centre into 2 Arboyz units. He killed one, but failed to kill the other completely.

I won priority again turn 3, but with Kragnos in combat I gave the turn to Chrissie, and destroyed her right most objective. The Maw Krusha finished off the Big Stabbas, and Kraggy retreated to achieve Savage Spearhead with monsters, and get out of 12″ range of the Wurgogg. My turn 3 was again mostly uneventful, although my Gore-Gruntas caught the Shaman and Warchanter in combat and killed the Shaman.

Chrissie won turn 3, and took the central objective putting us on 2 each. Unfortunately, she had to leave Kraggy within 12″ of the Wurgogg because of this, and so I took the opportunity and stared at him with the Wurrgog! The Wurgogg died but not before doing 14 wounds to Kraggy. This allowed the Brutes to charge Kragnos and killed him, taking the central objective back.

Chrissie won turn 4, moved the Maw Krusha to the centre, scoring 3. And I scored 3 as well.

Turn five saw me trying to charge the Maw Krusha and failing with a reroll; Chrissie had more luck charging my Maw Krusha but with finest hour on both big guys minimal damage was done. I won 28-21, but it was touch and go throughout, and a great game.

Game 3 v Moobs (Cities of Sigmar) – Power in Numbers – Won 19-1

Moobs was using Living Cities so was able to hold 3 units off the table and come on the board edge. This made me deploy with my screens forward and everything else back, and the Maw Krusha in the middle so it couldn’t be shot when the Irondrakes came on the board.

I was given first turn and the Gore Gruntas charged the Branchwraith and a unit of Freeguild Guard. I also cast Hand of Gork on Brutes to reduce Moobs options for bringing on units to his board edge or my left. The Gore Gruntas left the Branchwraith and Freeguild on one wound/model as I split my attacks, but took the objective.

The Fulminators came on turn 1 and were joined by the Frostheart Pheonix who took the objective on my left. They killed the Ardboyz, but the one Fulminator failed to kill any Big Stabbas. In combat I finished off the Branchwraith & Freeguild. Unfortunately, he miscast with the Hurricanum and failed Emerald Life Swarm meaning the shooting was only 2 dice… for most of the game!

Turn 2, and another Hand of Gork blocked off some of my left, reducing the options for the Irondrakes further, whilst the Maw Krusha charged the Fulminators killing 3 of them – helped by the fact they couldn’t unleash hell because of the Big Stabbas. The Brutes meanwhile pushed onto and towards other objectives. Moobs ran and charged the Warchanter on my central objectives, killing him and capturing it.

Moobs won turn 3, and the Irondrakes came on on my left, but were only in range of Ironskull’s Boyz – and failed to kill them! The Pheonix killed the other Warchanter and took my other objective, but gave up the centre one again. Meanwhile the Pheonix Guard charged my Gore Gruntas (in turn 2) and finished them off.

My turn 3, and my man of the match (the Wurrgog) went mad and stared the Pheonix to death without losing any wounds…. and that was game!

So I finished 3-0, as the only person undefeated and another 3 wins for Big Waaagh! They really suit my playstyle and are a great army! I’m looking forward to trying out some Kruleboyz content at some point this year.

I won a Warcry boxset sponsored by SCN Hobby – thank you Sarah!

Cheers Rhys for a great tournament – Goes to show that you don’t need large tournaments all the time; small ones are just as fun!

— Declan

If you want to read more Tournament Reviews we have a page listing them

Games Workshop

Tips for Starting Out in Wargaming

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All of us at Woehammer have been playing wargames in various forms for around 30 years now. So we thought it may be a good idea to go through what we think are some of the best things to do as a beginner who is just starting out with miniature wargaming as a hobby.

William – I would definitely recommend anyone new to the hobby to get whatever hobby bits they need and to start small with a basic box of troops/battle line, and just practice techniques and colour themes so that the money invested is small and you get a basic grip on things. Like undercoating, base coats, washes, highlights, dry brushing, learning to thin paints and building a good foundation. Then when you do buy that starter box, whole army or whatever, you are more confident and not so overwhelmed by everything.

Peter – So much to say and so little time! Firstly, you may have been attracted to the hobby by all the beautifully painted miniatures you’ve seen online, in a shop window or magazine. My first tip is never to compare your own work to these, especially when you’re just starting out. Much of the time the beautifully painted minis you see will have been painted by professionals or someone who has been painting minis for decades. Always compare to your past self, if you see improvement and you like your work then that is all that matters. Looking at those minis is great for inspiration, but that’s all I would use them for.

The Citadel Colour Website has a number of fantastic painting tutorials for the beginner explaining many of the basic techniques as well as how to paint some of their miniatures. These are a great start for those just starting out in miniature painting.

Three of the painting tutorials found on citadelcolour.com

Don’t necessarily buy your miniatures straight from the manufacturers like Games Workshop. If you shop around you can often find retailers who offer a 20% or like our friends at SCN Hobby World a 25% discount on the models and paints you want. If you’re just starting out and just want to test some colour schemes then eBay may be your best option to find second hand models to practice on.

Start small, plan ahead. Make sure you like both the aesthetic of an army and their play style before you dive right in. Once you find an army you like, start with a small force of perhaps 500 points and paint that up.

Every wargamer ends up with a large backlog of miniatures, IF this is something you want to avoid then try and restrict yourself to buying new units only once you have cleared your current backlog.

When it comes to painting, many of us have moved away from Games Workshop spray paints (£12.99) and use Halfords (£8.99) paints instead. Just as good and a fraction of the price.

Though the above are metallic, you’ll find tonnes of black primer and white primer there too.

Declan – Most important advice I’ve had… “your Hobby, your way”. There’s so many options with collecting, assembling, painting, playing and loads of companies that produce toys including some great smaller ones. Don’t be put off by others or what you see on social media – 99.9% of gamers are welcoming to new players and happy to share wisdom. I’m more into playing, so with that in mind:

Find a local club if you can – social media is great for this – and if you can’t don’t be afraid to start a small club and see what happens. Shop locally where possible as your Freindly Local Games Store (FLGS) – you don’t need to buy directly from Games Workshop or the other manufacturers, and your local shops will often have places to play or small events that you can dip your toe into. These smaller local events often are okay if you bring unpainted models so you can get into the gaming straight away.

Hull’s Angels Wargaming Club

If you do want to go to avents check out the Tournament calendars available in your area, and let the organiser know you are new.

Don’t worry about Hobby slumps – they happen to us all – just find something you enjoy and paint / play / read around that.

And finally – there is no requirement to play Games Workshop games or use their miniatures – there are so many great manufacturers and game systems out there; you will likely find a niche and you’ll be surprised how many people will play it… sometimes all a community needs is for someone to go first.

A Game of Black Seas by Waerlord Games

Dave – Buy items like snippers and tape measures from your local hardware store rather than places like Games Workshop. As a comparison, a Games Workshop tape measure costs £5.50 whereas an equivalent from Screwfix will cost £3.99.

Likewise with Brushes – you can get cheap brushes by the dozen from Amazon and sometimes good deals in wilko etc.

Paints, the obvious place to start is GW as these are likely your first exposure and most of the tutorials you find and free lessons in store will be with their paints. It’s worth trying out contrast and shades as a beginner. You can great bang for your buck with Vallejo though and these will last you longer for less.

Vallejo Model Colour Set

Glues, lots of cheap options are available, you need a polystyrene cement for plastics, superglue for resins or the rarer metal miniatures.

Very First minis – GW stores if I remember correctly will give you a free mini for an introductory painting session. Maybe ask a buddy if they have a spare mini if you want to find out how you feel about painting.

But ask yourself, are you Painting minis or starting an army?

If you enjoy painting and want to pursue that, you might start with something relatively simple like Stormcast or space marines. It’s worth thinking about what you want to do though, something like ogres has lots of different textures and can help you learn new techniques to deal with furs, flatter panels, skin and faces on a relatively forgiving model. Choose a model with a relatively open pose if you see one you like, brush control is not easy and accidentally catching something you already painted can be frustrating. Most of all, though, choose a mini which excites you.

GW paint Starter Set with Space Marine Miniatures

Starting an army.

Find a faction you like and read up on their lore, ask anybody you know who plays them about how they play. See if you can get a few games with a borrowed army and see if you enjoy them. Be a bit self-aware, if you aren’t the sort of person who can face painting hundreds of termagants, or whatever, then that’s probably not the army composition for you.

Here’s what you probably should do and nobody actually does – choose the minimum ’legal’ army and build and paint that while playing to learn the game and your army. Don’t be tempted to buy a big army box or a dozen units as it can be disheartening and you could end up with models you don’t really want. Path to Glory/Crusade can be an option here if you’re playing one of those games. For smaller skirmish games this is less of an issue but do finish your base gang before moving on.

If you aren’t playing Path to Glory, or similar, consider building your army up in blocks of a playable amount. E.g. get some 500 point games and after you have finished your first block of models then collect another 500 and play 1k etc.

500 points of Orks for Warhammer 40,000

Stickwithitness….. there will be times when you’ll get frustrated or disheartened. I think it’s worth trying to have a mix of units insofar as you can to avoid that. E.g. if your first army is for AoS and you’re looking at a couple of battleline and a leader, try and get two different battleline which build a bit differently and paint a bit differently to give yourself variety.

Give yourself ‘rewards’ if that works for you e.g. painted your battleline unit then treat yourself with a monster, a character or a tank.

Perfect is the enemy of the good. Get your minis painted and on the table, don’t be intimidated just get paint on them.

There you go, all our sagely advice written down for prosperity. Hopefully it helps!

Age of Sigmar, Army Lists, Fantasy, Tournaments

Top Three AoS Lists from The Emerald City Open – 19th/20th February 2022

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The Emerald City Open was a five game event over two days that took place in Pull-em-ups, WA on 19th and 20th Feb. It saw 46 players fight it out to be claimed champion.

Most Selected Faction/Subfaction

No suprise that Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar lead the way again in the number of armies.

Win Rate

The Top Three Lists

These were the top three lists from the Emerald City Open tournament.

Mat Beasley – Legion of the First Prince

Matt won all five games beating Slaves to Darkness/Ravagers in Round 1, Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 2, Daughters of Khaine/Khailebron in Round 3, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 4 and Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in the last round.

Allegiance: Legion of the First Prince
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
———-

Be’Lakor, the Dark Master (360)**
– Lore of Ruinous Sorcery: The Master’s Command
Kairos Fateweaver (435)*
– Lore of Ruinous Sorcery: The Master’s Command
Bloodthirster of Insensate Rage (280)
– General
– Command Trait: Ruinous Aura
– Artefact: Armour of the Pact
Slaves to Darkness Daemon Prince (210)**
– Sword
– Mark of Chaos: Khorne
The Contorted Epitome (255)**
– Artefact: Fourfold Blade
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon

Battleline
———-

10 x Bloodletters (115)**
5 x Flesh Hounds (105)*
5 x Flesh Hounds (105)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
———-

Emerald Lifeswarm (60)
Umbral Spellportal (70)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Warlord

Additional Enhancements
Artefact

Total: 1995 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 87
Drops: 6

Declan – Matt is running an army that has been popular in the UK since AOS3 dropped back in September – in Magic the Gathering it would be called a ‘control’ deck.

Be’Lakor can cause a unit to miss entire phases once a game (which can mean two turns), Kairos can change a dice roll once a game, and the Khorne Daemon Prince halves charges.

This allows Matt to complete almost impossible Battle Tactics or – more usefully – stop an opponent succeeding in one. In games where winning by 1 point is a win this is a great ability.

However this army is not ‘pick up and play’ and needs practice, practice, practice to get right – as such a great result for Matt.

Mason Knox – Seraphon

Mason managed an impressive four wins over the weekend, losing only to Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 4. He beat Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 1, Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 2, Lumineth Realm-Lords/Alumnia in Round 3 and Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 5.

Army Faction: Seraphon
– Army Type: Coalesced
– Subfaction: Thunder Lizard
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumph: Bloodthirsty

LEADERS
———-

Engine of the Gods (265)*
– Artefacts of Power: Fusil of Conflagration
– Prayers: Heal
– Mount Trait: BeastMaster
Skink Priest (80)*
– Prayers: Guidance
Slann Starmaster (265)*
– General
– Command Traits: Arcane Might
– Spells: Stellar Tempest

BATTLELINE
———-

5 x Saurus Guard (115)*
1 x Stegadon (265)*
1 x Stegadon (265)*

BEHEMOTH
———-

1 x Bastiladon with Solar Engine (250)*

OTHER
———-
10 x Chameleon Skinks (230)*
10 x Chameleon Skinks (230)*

TERRAIN
———-

1 x Realmshaper Engine (0)

CORE BATTALIONS
– *Battle Regiment

TOTAL POINTS: 1965/2000

Declan – The Seraphon army has been tearing up the tournament scene recently and that is because it has a toolbox of options and so can pivot into any meta and any changes to the meta. Mason has taken a few of the usual suspects – Bastiladon with Solar Engine, Stegadons and Engine of the Gods – and has added his own unique twist with 2 x 10 Chameleon Skinks.

I don’t remember seeing so many before and they add their shooting to that of the longer range monsters… and the shooting meta is strong at the moment.

Alexander Gonzalez – Soulblight Gravelords

Alexander also won four of his five games, losing only in Round 4 against Cities of Sigmar/Living City. Along the way he beat the Ossiarch Bonereapers/Mortis Praetorians in Round 1, Beast of Chaos/Allherd in Round 2, Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty in Round 3 and Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 5.

Allegiance: Soulblight Gravelords
– Lineage: Vyrkos Dynasty
– Grand Strategy: Predator’s Domain
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
———-

Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon (435)
– General
– Deathlance
– Command Trait: Pack Alpha
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Mount Trait: Foetid Miasma
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Radukar the Beast (315)**
Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Night (380)
– Lore of the Deathmages: Fading Vigour

Battleline
———-

10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)**
10 x Deathrattle Skeletons (85)**
10 x Dire Wolves (135)**

Units
———-

20 x Grave Guard (280)*
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1
20 x Grave Guard (280)*
– Great Wight Blades
– Reinforced x 1

Core Battalions
*Hunters of the Heartlands
**Battle Regiment

Total: 1995 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 118
Drops: 5

Declan – 40 Grave Guard! Wow! I’ve fought 20 of them before and they can kill a Mega Gargant over a couple of rounds of combat. Backed up by Mannfred and a Zombie Dragon, this army can get where it needs to get to.

The really secret tech (may not be secret) is Mannfred’s command ability:

From: Wahapedia

Considering most armies pay 1 command point for a one phase +1 to hit this is amazing value for a command ability. Sure it’s a relatively small range but with the smaller boards and Mannfred’s ability to run away from combat this is almost impossible to stop. Then it’s Grave Guard for the win!

Wildcard – Brian Cox – Beast of Chaos

Brian won 4 games with Beasts of Chaos and finished the event in 7th. He lost second game against eventually 3rd place finisher Alex and his Soulblight Gravelords/Vyrkos Dynasty list. He won against Beasts of Chaos in Round 1, Legion of the First Prince in Round 3, Cities of Sigmar/Living City in Round 4 (which included 40 crossbows, 4x Stormdrake Guard and 4x Fulminators) and Daughters of Khaine/Khailebron in the last round. Truly a great achievement.

Allegiance: Beasts of Chaos
– Greatfray: Allherd
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
———-

Doombull (115)*
– General
– Command Trait: Dominator
– Artefact: Blade of the Desecrator
Dragon Ogor Shaggoth (155)*
– Artefact: Tanglehorn Familiars
– Lore of Dark Storms: Hailstorm
Grashrak Fellhoof (150)*
– Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Savage Dominion
Tzaangor Shaman of Beasts of Chaos (135)***
– Lore of the Twisted Wilds: Tendrils of Atrophy

Battleline
———-

3 x Bullgors (130)**
– Great Axes
3 x Bullgors (130)**
– Great Axes
3 x Bullgors (130)**
– Great Axes
3 x Bullgors (130)***
– Great Axes
3 x Bullgors (130)***
– Great Axes

Units
———-

3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95)***
3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95)
3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95)
3 x Tzaangor Enlightened of Beasts of Chaos (95)
10 x Ungor Raiders (90)
10 x Ungor Raiders (90)
10 x Ungor Raiders (90)
1 x Mindstealer Sphiranx (95)
– Allies

Endless Spells & Invocations
———-

Doomblast Dirgehorn (45)

Core Battalions
*Warlord
**Hunters of the Heartlands
***Vanguard

Additional Enhancements
Artefact

Total: 1995 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 95 / 400
Wounds: 165
Drops: 17

Declan – Another great choice from Peter. 17 drops is immense and really brings a clear example of MSU (multiple small units).

The ally – Mindstealer Sphinx – at 95 points is a bargain of a Monster in the Realm of Ghur allowing Brian to pick up the Monsterous Takeover battle tactic, and his large number of units probably gave him good control over the board.

I’ve not played BoC in the AOS3 because they aren’t doing well or present in the Meta much. Hopefully this will encourage a resurgance – and the game will be better for it! Congratulations to Brian for doing really well with a lower tier army!

The Final Tournament Placings

– Declan & Peter

Age of Sigmar, Army Lists, Fantasy, Tournaments

Top Three AoS Lists from The Lone Star GT – 19th/20th February 2022

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Lone Star GT was a five game event over two days that took place in Texas, US on 19th and 20th Feb. It saw a 100 players duke it out to be claimed champion.

Most Selected Faction/Subfaction

No suprise that Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar lead the way in the number of armies, but perhaps Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty having six is fairly surprising.

Win Rate

The Top Three Lists

These were the top three lists from the Lone Star GT tournament.

Zachary Kennedy – Seraphon

Zachary won all five games beating Lumineth Realm-Lords/Syar in Round 1, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 2, Jiwan Noah Singh and his Ironjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 3, Ronjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 4 and Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of sigmar in the last round.

Allegiance: Seraphon
– Constellation: Thunder Lizard
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
———-

Engine of the Gods (265)*
– General
– Command Trait: Prime Warbeast
– Artefact: Cloak of Feathers
– Mount Trait: Beastmaster
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Curse
Slann Starmaster (265)*
– Artefact: Itxi Grubs
– Spell: Celestial Equilibrium
Terradon Chief (80)*
– Artefact: Fusil of Conflaguration
Skink Starpriest (130)****
– Spell: Hand of Glory
Skink Priest (80)****
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Guidance
Skink Priest (80)****
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal

Battleline
———-

30 x Skinks (225)**
– Boltspitters & Moonstone Clubs
– Reinforced x 2
20 x Skinks (150)**
– Boltspitters & Moonstone Clubs
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Skinks (75)*
– Boltspitters & Moonstone Clubs

Units
———-

6 x Terradon Riders (210)**
– Sunleech Bolas
– Reinforced x 1

Behemoths
———–

Bastiladon with Ark of Sotek (165)***
Bastiladon with Solar Engine (250)***

Core Battalions

*Warlord
**Hunters of the Heartlands
***Alpha-Beast Pack
****Command Entourage – Magnificent

Additional Enhancements

Artefact
Artefact

Total: 1975 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 4 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 141
Drops: 12

Declan – the Seraphon have a lot of options… so many in fact that they seem able to adapt to any meta, with almost any list. This is different to Mike Stewart’s List from Bloodshed in the Shires, but is just as good. Zachary has chosen to give up the possibility of chosing start player for the artefacts and extra command point from Warlord battalion.

From Wahapedia

For example the Fusil of Conflagration is another mortal wound at distance to take off the last few wounds. It’s not going to win games, but its a great little addition for all important mortal damage. The Bastiladon with Solar Engine is a great piece giving large ranged damage, whilst there are off-the-wall selections including the Ark of Sotek.

It’s a really interesting list, and I’m not sure how I would beat it – especially with the large units of Skinks with all the buffs applied!

Gavin Grigar – Gloomspite Gitz (Yes! Really!)

Gavin the winner of the LVO in 2022 returns with a Gloomspite Gitz list and manages to take them to five wins over five rounds (Declan take notes!) Why not check his recent interview out with the AoS Coach on winning a grand tournament like the LVO here. During Lone Star he beat Disciples of Tzeentch/Hosts Duplicitous in Round 1, Idoneth Deepkin/Fuethan in Round 2, Karl Rohr and Legion of the First Prince in Round 3, Soulblight Gravelords/Kastelai Dynasty in Round 4 and Thomas Zhennan Guan with his Maggotkin of Nurgle/Droning Guard in Round 5.

Allegiance: Gloomspite Gitz
– Option: Gloomspite Gitz
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Predator’s Domain
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)*
Fungoid Cave-Shaman (95)*
– Lore of the Moonclans: Squig Lure
Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig (110)*
– General
– Moonclan Stabba
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Lore of the Moonclans: The Hand of Gork

Battleline
36 x Squig Herd (480)*
– Reinforced x 2
12 x Squig Herd (160)*
12 x Squig Herd (160)*

Units
6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)*
6 x Sneaky Snufflers (75)*

Endless Spells & Invocations
Scuttletide (85)

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1960 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 172
Drops: 1

Declan – WooHoo… Gloomspite Gitz…! I’m amazed; Gavin has done brilliantly here given the current win-rate of GG – 31% according to The Honest Wargamer Stats Team. I know personally how much of a tarpit the 36 squigs are (72 wounds) and when killed they can come back through the Loonshrine.

Clearly Kragnos does all the heavy lifting here, and I am amazed he didn’t get shot off the table, but Gavin appears to have dodged all the shooting. This shouldn’t distract from the achievement though – 5-0 with Gitz… living the dream!

Jonathon Schlieszus – Ossiarch Bonereapers

Jonathon also won all of his games. Along the way he beat the Maggotkin of Nurgle/Munificent Wanderers in Round 1, Sons of Behemat/Taker Tribe in Round 2, Ironjaws/Bloodtoofs in Round 3, Legion of the First Prince in Round 4 and beat Seraphon/Thunder Lizard in Round 5.

Allegiance: Ossiarch Bonereapers
– Legion: Mortis Praetorians
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Hold the Line
– Triumphs: Bloodthirsty

Leaders
Katakros, Mortarch of the Necropolis (450)
Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament (360)
Liege-Kavalos (185)
– General
– Command Trait: Katakros’ Chosen
– Artefact: Artificer’s Blade

Battleline
20 x Mortek Guard (280)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield
– Reinforced x 1
10 x Mortek Guard (140)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield
10 x Mortek Guard (140)*
– Nadirite Blade and Shield

Behemoths
Gothizzar Harvester (215)

Artillery
Mortek Crawler (215)

Core Battalions
*Hunters of the Heartlands

Total: 1985 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 100
Drops: 8

Declan – With the changes to the Nagash warscroll in the December update there was some concern on twitter that the Ossiarch’s would struggle to keep up with their previous successes (or Owen Jackson’s previous successes!!!).

The Mortek Crawler gives ranged attacks whilst the Harvester sits behind the Mortek Guard and brings them back. They are difficult enough to kill without this added survivability. You really need to go all in to kill the Guard… and even then you may not be successful.

Finally Arkhan is a great Wizard with bonuses to cast, but his utility and benefit comes from his command ability:

Wahapedia

The extra range gives Curse of Years a scary 24″ range so it’s almost impossible to avoid the mortal wound output. Either dispel it, or hope your opponent fails to roll 6s in the first roll!

Another great success with an army that is seen as weak in the meta. Well done to Jonathan.

Wildcard – Chris Carlile – Skaventide

Chris won three games with Skaventide which is no easy thing in the current meta. He lost his first two games against Nighthaunt/Reikenor’s Condemned in Round 1 and Ironjaws/Ironsunz in Round 2. After that though he came back swinging beating Stormcast Eternals/Hammers of Sigmar in Round 3, Cities of Sigmar/Greywater Fastness in Round 4 and Kruleboyz/Big Yellers in the last round.

Allegiance: Skaventide
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Prized Sorcery
– Triumphs: Indomitable

Leaders
Lord Skreech Verminking (330)
Thanquol on Boneripper (405)
– 2 Warpfire Braziers & 2 Warpfire Projectors
– Lore of Ruin: Warpgale
Verminlord Deceiver (345)
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic
– Artefact: Shadow Magnet Trinket
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon
Warlock Bombardier (125)*
– Lore of Warpvolt Galvanism: More-more-more Warp Power!

Battleline
20 x Clanrats (130)**
– Rusty Spear
20 x Clanrats (130)**
– Rusty Spear
20 x Clanrats (130)**
– Rusty Spear

Artillery
Warp Lightning Cannon (185)*
Warp Lightning Cannon (185)*

Core Battalions
*Grand Battery
**Hunters of the Heartlands

Total: 1965 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 118
Drops: 9

Declan – This is an interesting pick from Peter and I can understand why he’s gone with it. 60 Clanrats is a brave collection of cowards, but a cheap way to hold back objectives, whilst the Warp Lightning Cannons scour the board of your opponent’s models.

Thanquol has loads of Warp guns… but the suprise here is Lord Skreech. In fact I’ve never faced in Age of Sigmar and had to look up his scroll!

Wahapedia (again)

He has more keywords than I’ve seen in most warscrolls, re-roll 1s to wound in combat, and can bring in summoned Clanrats with Dreaded Thirteenth Spell (and cause mortal wounds at range) and can use his Knowledge to select the right tools at the right time. A list I would love to play – although perhaps not with my Kragnos!

The Final Tournament Placings

– Declan & Peter

Age of Sigmar, Fantasy, Games Workshop, Peter Holland

Man-Skewer Boltboyz

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Three more models completes for the tournament army. Like the rest these are mainly base coats and washed with very little highlighting apart from any exposed skin or any yellow.

I’ve still got another 15 of these lads to paint!

Meanwhile I’m also nearly done with the Beast-Skewer

Peter Holland, Rules Writing, Sci-Fi

Writing a Sci-fi Tabletop Wargame – Part 13

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It is 400 years since man first set foot on the moon, and 300 since man found out the Galaxy is a dangerous place….

rulebook-21.02.22Download

As with everything I would like this to be community driven, so if you see any typo’s or think paragraphs need rephrasing or moving then please let me know in the form at the end of this article.

Last Weeks Poll Results for Orders

Here are the results from last weeks polls.

Based on these results, the following wording will be added to our living rules:

INFANTRY & VEHICLES

AIRCRAFT

All aircraft move at a BASE MOVEMENT RATE (BMR) of 10” when in an AIR COMBAT environment, when involved in a LAND COMBAT scenario, aircraft will have no physical model on the play area. Instead, these units operate as support during LAND COMBAT scenarios by conducting aerial bombing on ground targets.

Depending on the faction or the type of aircraft this can vary. As with Infantry & Vehicles, the Aircrafts movement will be shown under the unit’s movement statistic on their FACTON SHEET.

SPACECRAFT

Spacecraft will move at varying rates when taking part in SPACE COMBAT, these rates are determined by the type of ship as well as any additional faction rules. As with Land units and Air units, Spacecraft will have their movement statistics listed on their FACTION SHEET.

THIS WEEKS POLLS

I’ve been a little remiss and have missed a couple a key point during the drafting of what types of unit would be available to factions. There’s one type of unit we’ve not voted on whether to include…. TITANS ! (Think Battletech or Titans from 40k). Should our Sci-Fi game include these?

Also, I’ve been thinking a little about how faction traits should be added to player created factions….

–Peter

Name Suggestions?

Do you have a name suggestion for the game or do you have any rules suggestions, or a topic you would like us to focus on next. Or perhaps you would like us to reword something in the main document. Anything you want, let us know below.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Games Workshop

Top Three AOS Lists – Bloodshed in the Shires 2022

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UK, 19th & 20th February

The sounds of battle are over, and the Shires can go back to their normal levels of peace and quiet… but what an event it was!

I couldn’t make this one, as tickets were sold almost 2 years ago, but it’s almost local so its great to see it go ahead. Hopefully I’ll get there next year. For coverage of the event you can look back on Twitter and follow the Bucks Wargames Collective.

With 78 players it was a full event, and ended up with 2 players on 5-0.

1st Place – Mike Stewart – Seraphon (5-0)

Mike has been tearing up the tournament scene with Seraphon for… well almost forever – and he knows the army like the back of his hand. Always up on the top tables you’re doing well if you can get a win off Mike.

He benefits from consistent play with the same army, and pivoting with the meta using the breath of options available within the book.

Allegiance: Seraphon
– Constellation: Thunder Lizard
– Mortal Realm: Ghur
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Indomitable

Leaders
Engine of the Gods (265)*
– Artefact: Fusil of Conflaguration 
– Mount Trait: Beastmaster
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Curse
Slann Starmaster (265)*
– General
– Command Trait: Arcane Might 
– Spell: Celestial Apotheosis
Skink Priest (80)*
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal
Skink Priest (80)**
– Universal Prayer Scripture: Heal

Battleline
10 x Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitters Celestite Daggers & Star Bucklers
10 x Skinks (75)**
– Boltspitters Celestite Daggers & Star Bucklers
10 x Skinks (75)*
– Boltspitters & Moonstone Clubs

Units
2 x Salamander Hunting Pack (280)*
– Reinforced x 1
2 x Salamander Hunting Pack (280)*
– Reinforced x 1

Behemoths
Bastiladon with Solar Engine (250)*
Bastiladon with Solar Engine (250)**

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment
**Battle Regiment

Total: 1975 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 101
Drops: 2

Despite the recent points increases Mike has still taken Salamangers and Bastiladon’s and Engine of the Gods. With 2 drops he’s likely to have the option of who goes first as well (about 75% of the time), and the shooting and range mean that the Seraphon don’t need to win in combat – that’s not to say they can’t as anyone who has been charged by Salamanders will attest to!

2nd Max Barton – Stormcast Eternals – 5-0

Stormcast Eternals have been doing well since before the short Christmas break and – like the Seraphon – have lots of options available which allows for different play styles and players to have success with the army.

Allegiance: Stormcast Eternals
– Stormhost: Hammers of Sigmar
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Knight-Draconis (300)*
– General
– Command Trait: Master of Magic 
– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)
– Mount Trait: Celestial Instincts
– Universal Spell Lore: Flaming Weapon

Battleline
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade
2 x Stormdrake Guard (340)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade

Units
1 x Stormdrake Guard – Single (170)*
6 x Vanguard-Raptors with Longstrike Crossbows (480)*
– Reinforced x 1

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Additional Enhancements
Holy Command: Thunderbolt Volley

Total: 1970 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 1 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 86
Drops: 1

Max has gone 1 drop and taken two of the best warscrolls in the book. Longstrikes (Vanguard-Raptors) have 30″ range and the Thunderbolt Volley allows them to fire in the Hero phase once as well. With mortal wounds at that range they can push out some heavy damage… all safely out of distance. And it you do charge, expect to get Unleash Hell – from all 6!

He’s also taken the Stormdrake Guard (Dragons) who add speed, more mortal wound damage, and a reasonable save. I think this army is better than the full Dragon army having faced the Vanguard-Raptors before, as it’s got loads of versatility and can kill some Dragons early in the mirror match – of course if you’re playing against another 1 drop the best advice it to win the roll-off for first deployment!!

3rd Dan Bradshaw – Cities of Sigmar (4-1)

Dan grabbed the 3rd place trophy as top 4-1 player by virtue of strength of schedule (essentially how the players you played against did). It’s great to see a third different army in the top 3, but… they are all Order which is getting to the top of a lot of tournaments at the moment… Also – check out the list!

Allegiance: Cities of Sigmar
– City: Living City
– Mortal Realm: Ghyran
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Inspired

Leaders
Anointed on Frostheart Phoenix (315)*

– General

– Command Trait: Ironoak Artisan

– Artefact: Arcane Tome (Universal Artefact)

– Lore of Leaves: Lifesurge 
Doralia ven Denst (115)*
Freeguild General (100)*

Battleline
10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)*
10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)*
10 x Freeguild Crossbowmen (105)*

Units
4 x Dracothian Guard Fulminators (460)*
– Reinforced x 1
4 x Stormdrake Guard (680)*
– Drakerider’s Warblade
– Reinforced x 1

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1985 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 2 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 112
Drops: 1

Yes, it’s a one drop with two of the best warscrolls from Stormcast included… in fact it’s mostly a stormcast army by points value! The Freeguild Crossbowmen add models to take rear objectives and allow for some shooting to back up Sigmar’s finest. Once again shooting it the name of this list, with the Fulminators charging in and finishing you off. It’s a great army, and all three players should be proud of their placings!

Wild Card…

20th Tom Lees Ogor Mawtribes

Okay… it’s another Destruction list, but this is one of the first tournaments in the UK with the new Kragnos and he’s starting to get some play within the UK Destruction players! Hopefully he’ll be Smashing and Bashing (no keywords though) his way through enemies. He’s just got to avoid mortal wound shooting; so there’s a good thing there isn’t much of that about – … oh wait!

Allegiance: Ogor Mawtribes
– Mawtribe: Boulderhead
– Grand Strategy: Beast Master
– Triumphs: Indomitable

Leaders
Kragnos, The End of Empires (720)
Huskard on Stonehorn (340)*
– General
– Blood Vulture
– Command Trait: Lord of Beasts 
– Artefact: Brand of the Svard 
– Mount Trait: Metalcruncher

Battleline
Stonehorn Beastriders (320)*
– Weapon: Blood Vulture
Stonehorn Beastriders (320)*
– Weapon: Blood Vulture
Thundertusk Beastriders (285)*
– Weapon: Blood Vulture

Core Battalions
*Battle Regiment

Total: 1985 / 2000
Reinforced Units: 0 / 4
Allies: 0 / 400
Wounds: 66
Drops: 2

This list uses Kragnos’ ability to give 3D6″ charges on the monsters to give them mortal wounds on the charge (1 dice per 1″ of charge rolled, mortal on 4+); and so you don’t want to get charged by these brutes.

With only 66 wounds, this must be one of the lowest wound count armies in Age of Sigmar at the moment, but I imagine it’s great fun to play – just remember to deploy your screens correctly!

— Declan